'Dead Heat' Propels Readers into End Time Living

By Ann Vande Zande
Guest Writer

CBN.com – I admit to not being much of an end times fan. For no particular reasons other than the whole time period seems way too open to conjecture, and off in the distant future. I guess it all seemed disconnected to my reality. I mean, sure, I believe Jesus Christ will come again and there will be an ushering in known as “end times,” I’ve just never felt that understanding or thinking about it related to my life or faith walk.

Then I read New York Times best-selling author Joel Rosenberg’s most recent book, Dead Heat. And that’s all changed.

If you’re already familiar with his work, then perhaps you’ve read Rosenberg’s previous four in this high stakes, political drama series; The Last Jihad, The Last Days, The Ezekiel Option and The Copper Scroll. Oddly, in his previous novels, as he cast end time scenes in fiction (based on the book of Ezekiel) he wrote what would become real headline news in the future, i.e. after his books hit the shelves.

Call it uncanny, lucky, or prophetic. Whatever the case, if the same holds true for Dead Heat, the world as we know it is about to change, dramatically.

For starters, the book opens with what I before considered an impossibility, or at the very least, highly unlikely. America is nuked.

In Dead Heat, nuclear warheads are launched from container ships perched in nearby waters, not far from our eastern and western coasts. With well-planned, synchronized hits, the enemy takes out Washington D.C., Langley, New York City, and the part of California where and when the Republicans happen to be holding their caucus and the President will make an appearance.

Perhaps most startling is how the terrifying scenario appears entirely plausible. In fact, I’m glad I live in the Midwest. Not that the results of such an attack wouldn’t impact the entire nation. The devastation would spread far beyond the millions of lives lost. In a nutshell, the reverberating results of these limited range warheads would throw the nation into abject chaos.

Consider, as Rosenberg aptly describes, our major banking system would be all but wiped out with Wall Street and our major financial institutions headquartered in New York City. As for Washington, all government buildings and the accompanying personnel would cease to exist. Not to mention the destruction of FBI headquarters. And that’s just the beginning!

Of course a superpower would not likely launch nuclear attacks when the result would be an immediate response from the United States – leaving both countries devastated. So the mystery to solve in order to silence the deafening scream for swift retaliation begins with, who did it?

Rosenberg’s knowledge of the United States Government, foreign policy, international politics, the Middle East, all combined with insight into the nature of man, makes for an intelligent and emotionally gripping read. The use of real historical events and current political tensions escorts readers to what feels like an achievable but undesirable future.

Throughout the compelling read, Rosenberg proves that crazed dictators still exist and will make wild decisions, but operating behind the scenes hide unexpected alliances bent on power and domination. Reading this book next to today’s news headlines raised my consciousness of why politicians are so concerned with Russia, Asia, and every country in the Middle East.

Aside from the political arena, the story contains Christians bent on sharing the gospel up to the very end. Although I admit to initial dissatisfaction with the core character’s dialogue, like when the President of the United States contacts Jon Bennet by satellite phone in the remote refugee camp in northern Jordan where he and his wife volunteer and have been essentially “hiding out” from politics.

Before deferring to the President and listening to the intent of the call, our hero witnesses. Not likely, I thought. Then I remembered I was reading fiction, an easily forgotten reality when under the spell of Rosenberg’s expert weaving of our potential future world.

A moment later, conviction landed. Perhaps that type of believer does exist. Moreover, maybe I should become one of them. I believe, to a large degree, that’s one of the reasons that Biblical text found in Revelation, Daniel, and Ezekiel, as well as Jesus’ warnings so succinctly describe the coming end.

Surely their inclusion in scripture of what’s ahead would compel believers to sound the warning bell for those who don’t yet know Jesus. And, if we grasp the impending doom and resulting damnation for others, how could we gloat?

Dead Heat has also compelled me to change by paying attention to the political environment in which we’re ensconced.

If you’re looking for a “snuggle up by the fire” comforting book, don’t read Joel Rosenberg’s Dead Heat. On the other hand, if you’re interested in an impacting, action-packed challenge, then you’ll want to pick this one up.

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